O`connor Ready To Face O`malley

March 18, 1992|By George Papajohn.

Ald. Patrick O`Connor (40th) declared a St. Patrick`s Day victory as the Democratic nominee for Cook County state`s attorney Tuesday, saying the luck of the Irish meant ``bad luck`` for his Republican opponent, incumbent Jack O`Malley.

Another Patrick, Cook County Public Guardian Patrick Murphy, was running a distant second behind O`Connor in early returns.

``The luck of the Irish was with us,`` O`Connor said in his victory speech at the Drake Hotel in Chicago. ``That luck cannot sustain two Irishmen, so Jack, it`s bad luck for you.``

Unofficial results from about a third of the precincts in the city showed O`Connor leading Murphy by a 3-1 ratio. Running third was Kenneth Malatesta, a former top aide in the state`s attorney`s office. Fourth was Jim Gierach, an attorney from Palos Heights. O`Connor`s vote totals exceeded the totals of the other three combined.

Murphy and Malatesta conceded shortly before 10 p.m., but Gierach was not ready to acknowledge O`Connor had won.

``It`s just too early to make any guesses,`` said Norton Kay, a campaign consultant for Gierach.

O`Connor said he was getting more than 50 percent of the vote in the suburbs.

Even before he had claimed victory, he already was talking about wanting to debate O`Malley.

``It`s a Democratic county,`` O`Connor said. ``Mr. O`Malley won by a fluke last time.``

O`Malley took office in December 1990, filling the term of Richard Daley, who had been elected mayor and was replaced by Cecil Partee.

O`Malley ran unopposed in the Republican primary, so Tuesday`s results were more of a beginning than an end for him. He seemed to welcome the chance to face O`Connor and said he was prepared to debate.

``If that`s the case, then the voters face a very clear choice,`` said O`Malley, a lawyer and a former police officer. ``They have a candidate with absolutely no law-enforcement experience. He`s an alderman against a law-enforcement professional, and to me that`s a very clear choice to the voters.``

In another county race, three candidates were contending in the Democratic primary for the nomination for recorder of deeds. They were state Rep. Jesse White, Cook County Commissioner Bobbie Steele and Mary Ellen

``O`Hara`` Considine, a real estate agent.

The winner will face former state Rep. Susan Catania, who was unopposed in the Republican primary. The current recorder of deeds, Democrat Carol Moseley Braun, was in a tight race for the Democratic nomination for U.S. senator.

Though the four Democratic primary opponents in the state`s attorney`s race aimed barbs at O`Malley`s record, they spent most of the campaign mixing it up among themselves, seeking an edge in a crowded field.

O`Connor, the slated Democrat and the favorite, and Gierach, a political newcomer with a big budget and unconventional ideas, were the prime targets.

Gierach, Murphy and Malatesta said they had more courtroom experience than O`Connor, who countered that his City Hall experience would give him an edge in pushing through legislation to aid law enforcement.

O`Connor, Murphy and Malatesta also ganged up on Gierach for his stance on drugs, calling his proposal unworkable and irresponsible. Gierach wanted to allow doctors to treat addicts by prescribing illegal drugs, but during a debate, he agreed with his opponents that crack cocaine was too addictive to distribute even for legitimate purposes.

Gierach, who works for an Oak Lawn law firm, received a big financial boost from millionaire Richard Dennis, who favors legalizing drugs. Gierach said he disagrees with Dennis on this issue and stressed that Dennis` money did not come with any strings attached.

But it was Dennis` cash, more than $100,000, that allowed Gierach to build name recognition and buy television commercials. Gierach also was endorsed by the Independent Voters of Illinois-Independent Precinct Organization.

Both Gierach, 47, and Murphy worked in the state`s attorney`s office for short stints many years ago. But Murphy, 42, of Riverside, has gained a national reputation as a hard-driving crusader in the public guardian`s office.

O`Connor, too, stressed gun laws and the juvenile system in his campaign. In the City Council, O`Connor, 37, a North Sider, has won praise for his work on education issues, though Malatesta criticized him for his support of the white ethnic bloc led by former Ald. Ed Vrdolyak (10th) when Harold Washington was elected Chicago`s first mayor.